Baldwin and Costner Face off in Court over Multimillion Dollar BP Deal

On Tuesday two Hollywood actors faced each other in court as part of a trial over the BP Deep Horizon Spill back in 2010. Kevin Costner and Steven Baldwin are in conflict over the supply of oil clean up devices to BP. Baldwin, and his business partner Spyridon C. Contogouris, claim that Costner cheated them out of their share of a multimillion dollar deal in 2010, when BP bought 32 oil and water separation devices by a company that they are invested in.

Both actors invested in the company, Ocean Therapy Solutions, which develops the oil separating centrifuges. Baldwin and Contogouris now claim that Costner and his associates hid details of the deal with BP, thereby cheating them of any potential earnings. According to their lawyer, the pair can prove that Costner et al. persistently lied to them in order to exclude them from the deal, and are now seeking damages of $15 - $20 million in compensation.

Costner's lawyers will contend the claim believing it to be invalid as they profess that the plaintiffs were not involved in the BP deal because at the time that it was made they were not actually investors in Ocean Therapy Solutions.

Neither actor has yet testified in the case, and they have constantly avoided eye contact during their time in the court room. According to the Chicago Tribune, the body language of the two stars reflects the tension that exists between the parties.

By. Joao Peixe of Oilprice.com